Mass Effect 30 Day Challenge: Day 25
Prompt 25: Favourite boss fight
SPOILERS: Mass Effect 3
Hammers
Tuchanka, the Shroud, 2186 CE
Shepard flung one final warp at the cannibal, which collapsed next to the crumbling stairs of the ancient Krogan city. At least half a dozen more were still swarming towards them. Over her comm. she heard Wrex:
"Shepard, I took care of the Rachni, but someone has to raise those maw hammers before we can use them."
Shepard gritted her teeth and kicked one of the husks away from her legs. "We're kind of busy Wrex!" she yelled after stomping the creature's face until it lay still.
"Hah," she heard the old Krogan chuckle. "Lucky for you I'm here. I'll take care of it."
Shepard threw another warp towards the singularity where a pair of cannibals floated dazedly, the biotic explosion throwing them across the derelict courtyard.
"Let's go," Shepard said, pointing Liara and Garrus towards a crumbling staircase. They raced up it, stopping only to fill up on thermal clips. The stairs led to a room that curved around and let out on the bridge that had been between them and the Shroud minutes before. It looked like the easiest route down would be to cross it.
For a given value of easy. Shepard saw more cannibals below them.
Her comm. crackled again. "Shepard." It was Mordin. "Some luck, original strain in storage. Preparing the cure now."
"Make it quick Mordin," she replied, heading out across the bridge, dodging gunfire from the cannibals down below. "They're all over us out here."
"To the left!" Liara shrieked, and Shepard turned as the Reaper let out a hideous rumbling growl and its eye began to glow red.
"MOVE!" Shepard yelled, stumbling backwards as the massive red laser slashed inches in front of her face, cutting through the stone bridge they stood on like butter. "Shit!"
The three of them fell along with the rubble, the cannibals getting crushed below them. Shepard's shields went out but her tech armor was still up, so she rolled to her feet and dusted off her pistol. Next to her Garrus clambered out of a pile of rubble and Liara stumbled down from her landing spot.
"Everyone all right?" Shepard asked, even though it felt like a stupid question. She began to move forward towards the Shroud again.
"Fine," Liara said, her voice cracking. "Fine!"
"Me too," Garrus agreed as the two of them fell in behind her. He was silent for a moment, then Shepard heard him say "Did we just get shot by a Reaper?"
For some reason his question made her want to laugh hysterically. She swallowed and reloaded her submachine gun. "Consider it practice!" she called back to him.
They crossed under an archway and out onto another, much larger ancient courtyard. Wrex's voice echoed in Shepard's ear again:
"Okay, I raised the hammers. You have to activate both of them. My advice is to avoid the giant laser."
The Reaper growled again up above them. Behind her Shepard heard Liara gasp. "He has GOT to be joking," she said.
"Just keep moving," Shepard yelled. She rolled out of the way as the Reaper shot another red laser in their direction. "Stick to cover!"
"I don't think cover's going to cut it!" Garrus called back, flinging himself behind a jutting piece of rock as the laser cut across the center of the courtyard.
Shepard pushed forward again, her team still behind her. "Come on!"
"Goddess," Liara said, panting. "We're really doing this!"
"Don't stop!" Shepard yelled back.
"It's coming around!" Garrus yelled, pointing as the Reaper swung towards them and growled again, its eye glowing red once more.
"Craaaap," Shepard said as she ran for cover. They were completely exposed; they wouldn't make it to any cover in time.
The sound of fighter crafts zipping overhead distracted her and Shepard looked up. Her comm. crackled once more, and an unfamiliar Turian voice greeted her:
"Commander, this is Artimec Wing. We'll try and give that Reaper something else to shoot at."
The three of them stared as the Turian fighter ships flew overhead and began firing at the metal monstrosity, which rumbled again, distracted by the little crafts like a horse being besieged by flies.
"I knew they wouldn't give up," Garrus said, and Shepard knew he was smiling underneath his helmet.
"Go," Shepard called to her team. "Let's push ahead."
They ran under still more crumbling arches until Shepard heard Liara yell "To the left! It's one of the hammers!"
No sooner had the words left her mouth than a meteoric blast impacted just in front of them, and Shepard found herself standing in front of two hideous scaly monsters.
"Shit!" she yelled. "Brutes!"
The three of them flung themselves out of the way as the first Brute charged, Garrus immediately turning to hit it, assault rifle blazing. He was laughing hysterically. "This is crazy!"
Shepard couldn't agree more. She and Liara threw warps at the first brute while dodging the second, and as they bobbed and weaved, suddenly one of the Reaper's massive tripod feet crashed down in front of them, narrowly missing them.
"Shit!" Shepard yelled again. She looked to the left and could see the little stone pedestal that would activate the first hammer. "I'm going for it!"
She charged across the courtyard as fast as she could, dodging out of the way of two more brutes that landed in front of her. A short flight of steps led up to the pedestal, but before Shepard could make her mad dash, the Reaper's tripod leg smashed down again, almost crushing her. "Goddamnit!" she yelled, throwing herself backwards, then dashing forward again as the mechanical monster raised its foot up again. Come on Kara, she berated herself. Come on.
She reached the pedestal, out of breath and gasping. She slammed against the activation button and felt it depress into the rest of the stone and turn. She smiled madly. One down.
"Mordin," she contacted the Salarian over her comm. as she ran back towards the brutes, knowing Garrus and Liara couldn't take them on all by themselves. "We hit the first hammer, how's it coming?"
"Almost have cure," he replied. "Eve's vital signs dropping, trying to compensate!"
"Shepard!" Garrus yelled as she dashed over to where he stood, holding off a brute with his rifle. "The second hammer's on the other side!"
Here goes nothing. Shepard gritted her teeth again and hit the brute nearest to her team with a warp before running full tilt across the courtyard towards another set of stairs. The Reaper slammed its foot down next to her again, missing her by inches.
"Shepard!" Wrex yelled over the comm. "Get that second hammer going!"
Shepard rolled to the side and climbed the stairs. "THERE'S A REAPER IN MY WAY, WREX!" she yelled as the foot flew up and then slammed down in front of her again.
"I know!" the Krogan yelled back. "You have all the fun."
Promising to herself that she wouldn't headbutt the old man once she got done with this insane suicide mission, Shepard charged towards the second pedestal and shoved at the jutting piece of carved stone that would activate the second hammer. The rock slid into the stone and turned, and Shepard heard two loud thuds in short succession, each causing the ground below her to shake and rumble violently.
She ran back towards the courtyard. All the brutes were dead, and the Reaper had turned away from them, letting out another low vibrating growl and focused on the source of the violently shaking earth. As Shepard watched from the crumbling balcony, she saw the biggest thresher maw she'd ever laid eyes on shoot out of the ground and wrap itself around the Reaper. Both let out hideous shrieks as the maw, Kalros, the mother of all thresher maws, dragged the Reaper towards the ruined city on which they stood.
She threw herself to one side and felt the entire building jerk beneath her at the impact, and she clung to a broken stone balcony as, above her, the Reaper and Kalros wrestled in the dust of Tuchanka.
"Holy shit," Shepard breathed. "Holy, fucking, shit."
Nobody was going to believe this. Not in a million years.
Answer: Kalros and the Reaper, Priority: Tuchanka
I love this boss fight first and foremost for the dialogue between Shepard and Wrex, but also because there really is nothing more epic than watching that maw take down the Reaper. Kara may hate thresher maws, but she has respect for this one.